Don’t Feed the Animals

Isn’t it difficult to resist feeding a bird that is walking underneath your table at an outdoor restaurant?  What is it about feeding animals in a zoo, fish in a trout pond, or ducks at a pond that is so fascinating?  I know you are not suppose to feed wild animals, but then why do we put bird feeders out?  Because there is something in nature and wildlife that intrigues us so deeply that we cannot resist the urge.  That is my excuse for feeding my fox friends in my yard and along the Gunflint Trail.  I confess, I am guilty, and I know it is wrong, but I just can’t help myself.  As I hold the remainder of a granola bar outside of my car window, and say to my children, "We should not train these animals to depend on humans for food blah, blah, blah," the fox quickly moves in to take the food from my hand.  Isn’t it better to throw the old bread outside in our yard then to fill a landfill with it?  Yes, I am trying to rationalize this bad behavior, and I will try to contain myself, but to be in such close contact with a wild animal is an incredible experience and I am weak, so please forgive me, as I hold corn in my hand to feed the deer who come to my neighbor’s feeder…